Terror threat on email, cops on toes

Ranchi, Dec. 10: Security has been beefed up in Ranchi following an email sent to DGP G.S. Rath, threatening serial blasts in the state capital to avenge felled terrorists.

Busy places of the city, including the railway station, bus stands, Jharkhand High Court premises, civil court campus, Assembly and secretariats and Albert Ekka Chowk, teemed with men in khaki on Monday. Bomb disposal experts and CID’s sniffer dogs were seen in action at the station and Albert Ekka Chowk.

SSP Saket Kumar Singh said surprise checks on vehicles were being conducted and directives had been issued to immediately seize any vehicle parked illegally. “Besides, OCs have been asked to keep strict vigil on hotels, where people from different parts of the country come and stay,” he said.

The SSP also urged citizens for help. “The police expects you to be alert. Please inform us about any suspicious person or thing by dialling 100 or any of the following numbers — 9431706136/9431706137/9431706138/06512215855,” he added.

Sources said the email to DGP Rath, warning about terrorist strikes in Ranchi, was sent on December 8 though police made it public on Sunday.

The four-line message in Hindi roughly translates to: “Our brothers have been killed and their deaths will be avenged. In Ranchi, Delhi and Mumbai, 3,000 people will be killed in blasts. In Jharkhand, our people have reached. Bombs have been planted and they may be triggered by remote control anytime. Three thousand people may die in this game of destruction).”

IG (operations and Intelligence) S.N. Pradhan confirmed the email, but raised doubts over the prophesied casualty. “The mail did threaten a terrorist attack. Besides Jharkhand DGP, it was sent to top officers in Mumbai (DGP) and Delhi (police commissioner). I do not remember exactly what the message said, but it was some four-five lines (about blasts). However, as far as I remember, no death toll was mentioned in the mail,” he said.

According to Pradhan, the message has been sent through Yahoo Mail, whose main servers are in Singapore. “We are on our job to locate the origin of the email, copies of which have been sent to some print and electronic media groups too,” he said.”

He added that prima facie the mail appeared to be a hoax. “But, we are not taking chances. Police in Ranchi have been put on alert. We have also started investigations and contacted Yahoo’s office in Singapore.”